Welcome, Guest

Recent Posts

Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 ... 10
1
GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching
« Last post by The15thMember on Today at 06:52:11 pm »
I don't have any experience here, but I would think it's possible they were investigating the trap, and it got late in the evening so they just spent the night.  Bees sometimes get caught out late on flowers too and will just hunker down until it warms up in the morning.
2
It took me a while to get stung while inspecting too.  Little hives are always nice and friendly, since they don't have the beepower to have lots of people standing around on guard duty.  Plus everyone is happy when there is food coming in. 
3
GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching
« Last post by Terri Yaki on Today at 05:41:53 pm »
Obviously, I'm a newbee but from all the reading I've done, this kind of puzzles me. My migrants spent the night, got up pretty early and flew around and then all got quiet. I don't know if they were hanging out inside or what but there are flyers out there now still flying around.
4
And the changes were made as advised. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to say it but third time in the hive and no stings yet.
5
UK / EUROPEAN BEEKEEPING / Re: Hello from Berlin!
« Last post by Terri Yaki on Today at 05:37:36 pm »
Welcome, asfodeltreegiver. There is plenty of information here and help from experienced beeks (not me, I'm new) to keep you going.
6
I consider myself to be a natural or at least naturally-inclined beekeeper (the definition of "natural" varies so much amongst beekeepers that I sometimes hesitate to use the term without context).  I personally see sugar as emergency feed only.  Is it the best thing for bees to eat?  No, certainly not, and your goal is always to leave the bees enough honey so you don't need to feed sugar.  But sometimes things don't go as planned.  Maybe the fall flow doesn't come in.  Maybe a weak colony is robbed out by a stronger one.  Maybe you have a package or nuc that is getting a late start and needs a boost.  In these situations, if you have extra honey frames squirreled away somewhere, or a big colony with a surplus you can donate to the other colony, that is what you'd do.  But if you don't have any extra honey, then sugar is what you can fall back on.  It's not the best, but it will keep the colony alive and prevent them from starving to death until they have access to nectar again.  Personally, I would be wary of purchasing honey to feed to bees, unless I could get it from a beekeeper who I would trust to have healthy bees.  I also feel like the extra expense of a different sugar isn't worth the price for the purpose, since I only use it when something goes wrong, which hopefully is rarely.  So I would just use whatever sugar I had on hand in the kitchen. 
7
UK / EUROPEAN BEEKEEPING / Re: Hello from Berlin!
« Last post by The15thMember on Today at 03:44:52 pm »
Welcome to Beemaster, asfodeltreegiver!  :happy:  What a great opportunity!  Feel free to ask any questions you may have, or just post about how things are going.
8
UK / EUROPEAN BEEKEEPING / Hello from Berlin!
« Last post by asfodeltreegiver on Today at 12:46:48 pm »
Hi everyone! I'm a new beekeeper about to establish my first colony. It's been a dream of mine since I was a kid to work with bees and I'm now getting an amazing opportunity to take over two hives in a city park in Berlin from a long-time beekeeper who is retiring. I'll be focused on the most organic/natural means at every step and cannot wait to get started to learn from these amazing creatures!

I'm an American who moved to Germany about 4.5 years ago, but only moved to Berlin this year! This amazing opportunity fell into my lap after I apprenticed another beekeeper where I lived previously all last year.

Looking forward to connecting with all of you and learning from you as well! If you have any tips for brand new beekeepers, I'd be glad to hear them. I've studied and learned as much as I can, but there's always still more to learn I'm already finding. :) Thanks!
9
Hi everyone! I'm a new beekeeper about to establish my first colony. I've been studying and preparing for over a year and have apprenticed with two local beekeepers.

One question I still have is this - what is the best food for bees in the spring and fall? I have a hard time believing that sugar water is the most nutritious and most viable option... To me, it feels like humans eating candy or processed sugars rather than fruit. Is it truly unsafe to give a colony honey from another healthy hive as they get established if the beekeeper have enough to spare on hand? Is there no better option than store-bought inverted sugar syrup or homemade sugar syrup?

If sugar syrup is truly the best option, would an unprocessed sugar like coconut sugar be more nutritious than white granulated sugar syrup?

Thanks in advance! I'm so excited to be here and to be starting on this amazing adventure!
10
GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching
« Last post by Terri Yaki on Today at 12:04:37 pm »
I'm still having pretty good activity out there. It's like a mini hive moved in or something. Maybe it's a drone's club. :cheesy:
Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 ... 10